Written Answers Monday 13 December 2010

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-36729 by Richard Lochhead on 28 October 2010, whether it considers that variations exist in approaches taken by different EU member states concerning agricultural support scheme land eligibility regulations and penalty systems.

Richard Lochhead: My officials have visited a number of member states to examine their systems for delivering agricultural support and have hosted several reciprocal visits to look at our systems. Although each member state is unique in terms of their support schemes, computer systems and farming structures, nevertheless, these exchanges have been particularly helpful in informing best practice in the implementation of these measures. As I explained in answer to question S3W-36729, however, European legislation governs all member states and, amongst other things, defines what constitutes eligible land, and sets out in detail how penalties are to be applied. I expect any variation in these areas, in other words non-compliance with the regulations, would lead to the member state concerned being fined by the Commission’s auditors.

Agriculture

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-36729 by Richard Lochhead on 28 October 2010, whether it has contacted any other EU member states in the last 12 months to discuss and compare approaches to agricultural support scheme land eligibility regulations and penalty systems and, if so, (a) which member states officials contacted and (b) when any discussions took place.

Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-37906 on 13 December 2010. As I explained, European legislation on these issues governs all member states and any comparison exercise would not yield a conclusive result.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Agriculture

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-36729 by Richard Lochhead on 28 October 2010, how often it liaises with other European administrations to ensure that the EC rules in relation to agricultural support scheme land eligibility regulations and penalty systems are interpreted and implemented fairly; what form that liaison takes, and whether it considers that it is achieving this objective.

Maureen Watt (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will include support for more integrated production systems such as community-assisted farming and care farming when designing measures to be included in the top-up fund recommended in The Road Ahead For Scotland: Final Report of the Inquiry Into Future Support For Agriculture In Scotland .

Richard Lochhead: Support is available through the Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP) for farmers wishing to set up a care farming operation. The Scottish Government has announced that an expert group will be set up through the Future CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) Stakeholder Group to take forward work on the inquiry’s recommendation of a Top-Up Fund (TUF). The current CAP Regulation does not allow for a TUF. We would therefore need to negotiate to ensure Scotland can develop a TUF when the future CAP post-2013 legislation is being discussed in Europe.

Agriculture

Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether future Scotland Rural Development Programme mechanisms under the Common Agricultural Programme after 2013 will provide incentives for food producers who produce food for the local market, use native breeds and integrated farming systems.

Richard Lochhead: It is too early to say what specific measures will be available in the next programming period for the Scotland Rural Development Programme for the period 2014-20. The European Commission has only just embarked on the process to determine the content of the next Rural Development programmes with the publication of its Communication on the Common Agricultural Policy towards 2020 on 18 November 2010. The Commission is expected to make legislative proposals by summer 2011 after which negotiations over the final content will begin. Once the appropriate regulations from the Europe are known to the Scottish Government – most likely later in 2012 - it will be possible to determine what support may be offered.

Business Rates

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether additional resources raised by increasing the business rates that are paid by the largest retail properties, including supermarkets and out-of-town retail parks, as outlined in Scotland’s Spending Plans and Draft Budget 2011-12, will be directed to support town centres and, if so, how.

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of additional resources are likely to be raised by increasing the business rates that are paid by the largest retail properties, including supermarkets and out-of-town retail parks, as outlined in Scotland’s Spending Plans and Draft Budget 2011-12.

John Swinney: It is estimated that increasing the business rates paid by the largest retail properties will raise an additional £30 million in 2011-12.

  That resource will be used to support a range of front line services provided by councils, and maintaining the same 2010-11 levels of support for tens of thousands of town centre small and medium-sized enterprise businesses through the Small Business Bonus Scheme.

Care Commission

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether (a) NHS Quality Improvement Scotland staff or (b) staff transferred from the Care Commission will carry out the inspection of independent healthcare establishments from April 2011.

Nicola Sturgeon: From April 2011, Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) will be responsible for regulating independent healthcare providers and inspections of such providers will be carried out by a person authorised by HIS.

  It is a matter for HIS to ensure that those carrying out such inspections have the necessary training and experience to carry out these inspections.

Climate Change

Maureen Watt (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to make revenue funding from any future rounds of the Climate Challenge Fund or a similar replacement available to groups that have temporary or short term leases.

Richard Lochhead: There is no specific exclusion for projects that involve temporary or short-term leases in the application criteria for the Climate Challenge Fund. It will be important if a community is applying for funding that they demonstrate how they will achieve both significant carbon emissions reduction and a positive legacy for the community.

Diabetes

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to address the impact of diabetes on women’s health across Scotland.

Nicola Sturgeon: Diabetes, both type 1 and type 2, affects slightly more men than women, but both are equally susceptible to the complications associated with diabetes.

  Our Diabetes Action Plan draws attention, however, to the fact that the relative risk of cardiovascular disease is particularly high in women with type 1 diabetes diagnosed under the age of 40, and we would expect those caring for these women to bear that in mind.

  The action plan also draws attention to the recommendations in Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) Guideline 116 dealing with the management of pregnancy in women with diabetes, including the need to recognise women with gestational diabetes, the prevalence of which is increasing.

  The Scottish Diabetes Group, on behalf of the Scottish Government, will monitor NHS boards’ progress with the actions in the plan over the next three years.

Diabetes

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost is of a hospital admission for a hypoglycaemic emergency for a patient with type 1 diabetes.

Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not centrally held.

Diabetes

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the cost of treating a person with type 1 diabetes with insulin pump therapy compared with a multiple daily injection regime.

Nicola Sturgeon: A cost template report, developed by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland, has been made available as a companion document to Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) Guideline 116 on the management of diabetes. The template provides estimates of the costs and associated resources required to provide insulin pump therapy, as well as estimates of the costs and associated resources required to provide insulin by multiple daily injection.

  The template is available at http://www.sign.ac.uk/guidelines/fulltext/116/index.html .

Employment

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-37579 by John Swinney on 17 November 2010 and with regard to full-time equivalents, (a) how many women are employed by each local authority and (b) what that figure is expressed as a percentage of all employees.

John Swinney: The information requested is set out in the following table. With regard to full-time equivalents, part (a) shows what percentage of each local authority’s total number of full-time equivalents are women, and part (b) shows the level of full time equivalent women employees within the local authority.

  Table 1: Full-time Equivalent Proportions and Levels of Women Employees by Local Authority, Q2 2010

  

Local Authority
(a) Full-Time Equivalent of Women Employees as Proportion of Total Local Authority Employees: Q2 2010
(b) Full-Time Equivalent of Women Employees: Q2 2010


Aberdeen
64.6%
4,800


Aberdeenshire
69.9%
7,000


Angus
70.4%
3,300


Argyll and Bute
67.2%
2,800


Clackmannanshire
67.5%
1,500


Dumfries and Galloway
66.7%
4,100


Dundee City
61.7%
4,200


East Ayrshire
66.4%
3,600


East Dunbartonshire
68.4%
2,900


East Lothian
66.3%
2,500


East Renfrewshire
69.8%
2,700


Edinburgh City of
62.8%
10,100


Eilean Siar
68.6%
1,300


Falkirk
67.3%
4,400


Fife
65.3%
11,400


Glasgow City
64.3%
13,800


Highland
67.4%
6,700


Inverclyde
69.6%
2,700


Midlothian
66.4%
2,500


Moray
65.9%
2,500


North Ayrshire
68.6%
4,100


North Lanarkshire
70.4%
10,200


Orkney Islands
65.0%
1,100


Perth and Kinross
67.9%
3,500


Renfrewshire
67.9%
4,900


Scottish Borders
65.9%
3,000


Shetland Islands
65.1%
1,700


South Ayrshire
66.7%
2,800


South Lanarkshire
64.6%
8,600


Stirling
66.9%
2,400


West Dunbartonshire
66.7%
3,600


West Lothian
65.0%
4,600



  Source: Joint Staffing Watch Survey (Q2 2010), not seasonally adjusted.

  The corresponding figures for the percentage of women employed by each local authority as a percentage of all employees in terms of head count were supplied in the answer to question S3W-37579.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of patients admitted to hospital for major trauma, major surgery or acute medical illness have been individually assessed for risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) as outlined in the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network guideline 62 on prophylaxis of VTE and guideline 36 on antithrombotic therapy in each of the last two years, broken down by NHS board area.

Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not held centrally.

  Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) Guideline 62 on prophylaxis of venous thromboembolism (VTE) has been replaced by SIGN Guideline 122 on the prevention and treatment of VTE, which was launched on 10 December. One of the new guideline’s key recommendations is that all patients admitted to hospital should be individually assessed for risk of VTE and bleeding, and that the risks and benefits of prophylaxis must be discussed with the patient. SIGN has produced an implementation plan to accompany the guideline, to ensure that its recommendations are widely publicised and implemented throughout NHSScotland.

  SIGN Guideline 36 on antithrombotic therapy is also being revised, and a new Guideline on the topic is expected next year.

  Achieving reliable VTE prophylaxis in surgical patients is already part of the Scottish Patient Safety Programme’s peri-operative workstream. The Programme has recently agreed to extend its work to include the assessment of all patients, medical as well as surgical, for VTE prophylaxis.

Health

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what education is provided to GPs regarding the treatment of thyroid conditions.

Nicola Sturgeon: The treatment of thyroid conditions is covered by the curriculum for specialty training for general practice and is included in the assessment process. Both the curriculum and the assessment process are set by the Royal College of General Practitioners, and approved by the General Medical Council.

  The GP training curriculum enables GP trainees to gain specialist experience in a number of areas as well as their general experience in a practice setting. The curriculum equips them to recognise and understand thyroid related conditions.

  GPs are generalists and would seek the help and advice of specialists if the management of the patient’s condition required specialist expertise.

Justice

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length of time was between a report being made to the procurator fiscal and the commencement of a criminal case by (a) sheriff and (b) district courts in each of the last three years, broken down by police force area.

Frank Mulholland QC: The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) database records when an accused is marked for Court Proceedings i.e. when the Procurator Fiscal makes the decision that Court Proceedings are the appropriate course of action for an accused. We have, therefore, used the date of this marking for proceedings as the date of commencement of proceedings as this date is recorded for all methods of commencing proceedings.

  Table 1 shows the average time between a report being received by the Procurator Fiscal and the date when a decision was taken to take Summary Court Proceedings against an accused, broken down by police force area.

  Table 1: Average Days to Commence Proceedings

  

Level of Court
Police Force Area
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10


Sheriff Summary
Central
 11.2 
 6.8 
 5.9 


Dumfries and Galloway
 19.9 
 14.1 
 9.9 


Fife
 17.6 
 10.8 
 11.8 


Grampian
 17.9 
 13.2 
 9.6 


Lothian and Borders
 11.1 
 8.4 
 9.7 


Northern
 7.8 
 6.3 
 12.8 


Strathclyde
 16.3 
 13.3 
 13.0 


Tayside
 7.5 
 6.4 
 7.0 


COPFS
 14.2 
 11.0 
 11.1 


Stipendiary
Strathclyde
 20.7 
 16.1 
 21.9 


Justice of the Peace
Central
 26.6 
 26.2 
 17.4 


Dumfries and Galloway
 27.5 
 22.9 
 16.2 


Fife
 36.0 
 19.0 
 19.8 


Grampian
 32.1 
 26.4 
 15.7 


Lothian and Borders
 14.7 
 13.9 
 15.2 


Northern
 7.2 
 7.9 
 27.0 


Strathclyde
 24.7 
 21.3 
 22.7 


Tayside
 10.9 
 9.3 
 9.7 


COPFS
 22.4 
 19.2 
 19.0 



  Notes:

  1. The information for this question has been extracted from the COPFS’ Case Management Database. The database is a live, operational database used to manage the processing of reports submitted to procurators fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies. The table reflects the information recorded on 9 December 2010.

  2. Cases reported to procurators fiscal may contain more than one accused, and these accused may have decisions taken on the same date or on different dates. Only the earliest date has been used in the calculations.

  3. The table includes only the original commencement of summary court proceedings (it excludes any where proceedings were re-raised). It also excludes accused persons if the initial decision was to proceed by way of petition, even if subsequent proceedings were taken in a summary court. The table excludes accused persons where a prosecution in a summary court followed a failure to accept a road traffic fixed penalty or a rejection of a direct measure such as a fiscal fine etc.

  4. Commencement of a criminal case has a number of legal definitions depending on the nature and method of proceedings. Solemn proceedings may be commenced by way of a Petition for Warrant in terms of Section 34 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (the act) or the service of an Indictment in terms of section 64 of that act. Although in general most solemn proceedings are commenced by way of petition, it is entirely competent for an indictment to be served where there has been no previous petition procedure. Solemn proceedings have been excluded from the answer, as the application for a petition does not necessarily result in proceedings in the sheriff court.

  5. Summary proceedings in the sheriff, stipendiary magistrates and justice of the peace courts (formerly district courts pre Court Unification) may be commenced by the service of a complaint on an accused person in terms of s.138 of the act or when a warrant to apprehend or cite the accused is granted by the court under section 135.

  6. In summary proceedings the COPFS case management database records when a warrant is sought by the prosecutor from the court, not when it is granted by the court. In relation to non-warrant cases, the database records when a complaint is sent for service on the accused in cited cases (that is when the accused is cited to appear at a future court hearing); however it does not record when a complaint is sent for service in cases where the accused appears from custody or by way of an undertaking from the police.

Justice

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the maximum length of time was between a report being made to the procurator fiscal and the commencement of a criminal case by (a) sheriff and (b) district courts in each of the last three years, broken down by police force area.

Frank Mulholland QC: There is no legal maximum length of time between a report being received by the Procurator Fiscal and the commencement of a criminal case in a summary court. However, the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, Section 136 stipulates that for some statutory offences, summary proceedings must be commenced within six months of the contravention of the statute (i.e. the date of the offence).

  Table 1 shows the maximum number of days, broken down by police force area.

  A total of 378,466 cases were included in these calculations, and 86 per cent were dealt with in 28 days from the date of receipt (the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) key target being 75% within 28 days in relation to prosecution decisions). Many of the cases that took the longest time to mark for proceedings required detailed further investigation prior to the commencement of proceedings; they included allegations of fraud, sexual offences and contraventions of health and safety legislation.

  Table 1: Maximum Days to Commencement of Proceedings

  

Level of Court
Police Force Area
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10


Sheriff Summary
Central
419
345
327


Dumfries and Galloway
279
247
197


Fife
224
228
280


Grampian
442
643
404


Lothian and Borders
667
398
477


Northern
343
293
381


Strathclyde
807
827
511


Tayside
358
316
532


Stipendiary
Strathclyde
301
315
533


Justice
Central
191
505
130


Dumfries and Galloway
169
184
137


Fife
243
182
117


Grampian
393
238
245


Lothian and Borders
342
201
385


Northern
170
279
205


Strathclyde
252
280
333


Tayside
101
174
216



  Notes:

  1. The information for this question has been extracted from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s Case Management Database. The database is a live, operational database used to manage the processing of reports submitted to procurators fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies. The table reflects the information recorded on 9 December 2010.

  2. Cases reported to procurators fiscal may contain more than one accused, and these accused may have decisions taken on the same date or on different dates. Only the earliest date has been used in the calculations.

  3. The table includes only the original commencement of summary court proceedings (it excludes any where proceedings were re-raised). It also excludes accused persons if the initial decision was to proceed by way of petition, even if subsequent proceedings were taken in a summary court.

  4. The table excludes accused persons where a prosecution in a summary court followed a failure to accept a road traffic fixed penalty or a rejection of a direct measure such as a fiscal fine etc.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the implications of the judgment of the UK Supreme Court on Cadder v Her Majesty’s Advocate on cross-border operations.

Kenny MacAskill: The detention periods in cross-border cases and domestic cases have been different for some time, so this is not a new issue. The existing protocols between Scottish and other UK forces will remain in place and, together with police and Crown colleagues, we are considering whether changes are required.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many homicides there have been in 2009-10, broken down by (a) police force area, (b) victims’ gender, (c) victims’ age and (d) main method of killing.

Kenny MacAskill: Information on the number of homicides recorded in Scotland in 2009-10 broken down by (a) police force area, (b) age and gender of the victim and (c) main method of killing is given in Tables 2, 5 and 7 respectively of the statistical bulletin Homicide in Scotland, 2009-10 , published by the Scottish Government on 13 December 2010, and available at:  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00875 .

  The dates of all Scottish Government Official and National Statistics publications are pre-announced, and the up to date list of future publications can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Search/Forthcoming.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive on what date the homicide in Scotland statistical bulletin will next be published.

Kenny MacAskill: The statistical bulletin Homicide in Scotland, 2009-10 , was published by the Scottish Government on 13 December 2010, and is available at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00875 .

  The dates of all Scottish Government Official and National Statistics publications are pre-announced, and the up-to-date list of future publications can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Search/Forthcoming.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hours have (a) prisoners and (b) offenders serving community service orders been engaged in clearing and gritting snow and ice since 26 November 2010, broken down by local authority area.

Kenny MacAskill: The most current information held by the Scottish Government on those prisoners and offenders involved in snow clearing has been placed within the Scottish Parliament Information Centre with (Bib. number 52182).

Local Government Finance

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what Glasgow’s share of the Transfer of the Management of Development Funding budget will be in 2011-12.

John Swinney: Glasgow City Council’s share of the Transfer of the Management of Development Funding budget in 2011-12 is £68.1 million. This is the same proportionate share as included for Glasgow in the 2010-11 budget.

Medication

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost is per course of the drug treatment for osteosarcoma recommended by the NHS and how many courses of treatment patients normally receive.

Nicola Sturgeon: The cost per course of drug treatment for osteosarcoma is not held centrally.

  The number of courses of treatment varies from patient to patient, depending on their response to initial treatment and the general health of the individual patient. This is a clinical decision made at a multidisciplinary team meeting and should involve a full discussion with the patient and their family or carer.

  Currently, patients with resectable osteosarcoma who are under the age of 40 are recruited to the "Euramos" clinical trial. This is an international study by four leading multi-institutional osteosarcoma groups based in the USA, Germany-Austria, Europe and Scandinavia. Patients follow the standard treatment regimens according to which arm of the study they are randomised to and, therefore, costs are variable.

Medication

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has considered the establishment of (a) a body or (b) specific methods at the Scottish Medicines Consortium to evaluate treatments for rare diseases.

Nicola Sturgeon: There are longstanding commissioning arrangements to ensure patients are able to benefit from specialised services for the treatment of rare and ultra-rare conditions. Access to this national resource is managed by the National Services Division (NSD) of NHS National Services Scotland, which commission relevant treatment within NHSScotland or from highly specialised services across the UK or further afield in Europe, as and when it is required.

  The European Council published a recommendation on rare diseases in 2009 which proposes a national plan for rare diseases. The Scottish Government fully supports this recommendation and is working with officials from across the UK to explore the extent to which the UK meets the requirements of the recommendation and to agree areas of possible collaboration and progress in the future.

  In relation to the evaluation of medicines, Scotland has robust, equitable and transparent arrangements for the introduction of newly licensed clinically and cost-effective medicines to treat all conditions, including rare diseases. In appraising orphan medicines to treat rare diseases, the Scottish Medicines Consortium may, in addition to the standard assessment of clinical and cost-effectiveness, apply modifiers which consider other additional factors. Subject to meeting certain criteria, this can facilitate acceptance of a medicine notwithstanding the economic evidence provided. Full details of the Scottish Medicines Consortium policies can be found on the SMC website: http://www.scottishmedicines.org.uk/smc/3863.21.24.html.

  NHS boards also have arrangements that provide an opportunity at local level for clinically led consideration of medicines for individual patients in certain circumstances.

Medication

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to make available under the orphan drugs risk-sharing scheme orphan or ultra-orphan treatments rejected by the Scottish Medicines Consortium on the grounds of cost-effectiveness.

Nicola Sturgeon: The National Services Division (NSD) Risk Share arrangements only include medicines recommended for use within NHS Scotland by the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC).

  In appraising orphan medicines to treat rare diseases, the Scottish Medicines Consortium may, in addition to the standard assessment of clinical and cost-effectiveness, apply modifiers which consider other additional factors. Subject to meeting certain criteria, this can facilitate acceptance of a medicine notwithstanding the economic evidence provided. Full details on SMC policies can be found on the SMC website: http://www.scottishmedicines.org.uk/smc/3863.21.24.html.

  NHS boards have arrangements in place to consider provision of medicines not recommended by the SMC, including high cost orphan medicines, for individual patients in certain circumstances.

NHS Services

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual cost to NHSScotland is of providing interpreters and translators for GP and hospital appointments, broken down by NHS board.

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many GP and hospital appointments required an interpreter in each of the last five years for which figures are available, broken down by NHS board.

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive at how many GP and hospital appointments for which an interpreter was required did the patient not attend in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost of providing an interpreter was for (a) GP appointments and (b) hospital appointments in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not held centrally.

  It is primarily for NHS boards to co-ordinate interpreting and translation services that best meet the needs of their local populations.

  NHS Health Scotland has worked with a range of partners to develop a translation, interpreting and communications support (TICS) strategy and action plan to support NHS boards to improve standards, availability and co-ordination of translation, interpreting and communication support services for those who need them.

  The programme delivery plan for 2010-11 is available at: http://www.healthscotland.com/documents/4592.aspx.

Poverty

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-37117 by Alex Neil, on 8 November 2010, when the decision will be taken to commit the remainder of its Achieving our Potential budget for 2010-11.

Alex Neil: It is intended that decisions to commit the remainder of the Achieving our Potential budget will be made by the end of December 2010, with allocations being made very shortly thereafter.

Prison Service

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether HMP Grampian is on schedule to open in 2014.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Scottish Government is committed to replacing HMP Aberdeen and HMP Peterhead with HMP Grampian which is expected to open in 2014. The Scottish Prison Service is on schedule to meet this target. A planning application for the development has been submitted to Aberdeenshire Council and the Prior Information Notice has been published to make potential bidders aware of the intention to conduct a procurement process for the construction works for HMP Grampian.

Prison Service

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to make full use of the open prison at HM Prison (a) Noranside and (b) Castle Huntly.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  Access to HMP Open Estate forms part of the progression system of integrated case management for all prisoners in Scotland. Prisoners access the Open Estate via Multi-disciplinary Progression Management Groups (MDPMG) held in each prison. The process of MDPMGs has been revised subsequent to the Spencer Report which investigated the abscond of Robert Foye. These groups require the governor to confirm that they have assessed the risk of community access for all prisoners being considered for transfer in a multi-disciplinary setting. Multi-disciplinary contributions include social work, psychology, prison intelligence, healthcare, prison management and police intelligence reviews. All prisoners transfer to HMP Open Estate, there is no differentiation between sites.

  The Governor of HMP Open Estate determines the allocation of prisoners between sites subject to their sentence type.

Prison Service

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff are employed at HM Prison Noranside, broken down by job type.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  Noranside Staff

  

Position Type
Grade
Position
Total


Non Operational
B
Assistant
2


Non Operational
C
Administrator
3


Non Operational
C
Estates Trades (C Band)
2


Non Operational
D
Officer Administrator
1


Non Operational
E
Estates Manager
1


Operational
C+
Officer Operations
8


Operational
D+
Officer Residential
31


Operational
E+
Operational Manager
6


Operational
F+
Unit Manager
1


 
 
 
55



  Senior Staff at Castle Huntly with responsibility for Noranside

  

Position Type
Grade
Position
Total


Operational
F+
Unit Manager
2


Non Operational
F
Chaplain
1


Non Operational
F
Middle Manager
1


Non Operational
G
Chaplain
1


Operational
G
Deputy Governor
1


Operational
H
Governor
1


 
 
 
7

Prison Service

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will reduce the current expenditure budget of the Scottish Prison Service from £333.1 million in 2010-11 to £318.0 million in 2011-12, as noted in Table 10.12 of Scotland’s Spending Plans and Draft Budget 2011-12.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  In 2011-12, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) will transfer responsibility for the health and care of prisoners in custody in Scotland to the National Health Service in Scotland. This transfer will take place in November 2011 and the SPS budget has been reduced by £10 million in 2011-12 to reflect this change of responsibility. The SPS current expenditure budget for 2011-12 has also been reduced by a further £5.1 million to reflect the efficiency savings that SPS is expected to achieve in line with the Scottish Government’s efficiency targets for all public sector organisations.

Prison Service

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will reduce the capital spending budget of the Scottish Prison Service from £136.8 million in 2010-11 to £47.5 million in 2011-12, as noted in Table 10.12 of Scotland’s Spending Plans and Draft Budget 2011-12.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Scottish Prison Service capital budget for 2010-2011 reflects the expected high level of spending on prison projects in the current year. The capital budget for 2011-12 is based on the planned capital project expenditure for that period which is expected to be lower. This capital provision will allow for the completion of HMP Low Moss and the final phase of the redevelopment of HMP Shotts.

Prison Service

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering the closure of any prisons as part of the reduction in the budget of the Scottish Prison Service and, if so, which prisons are being considered and what consultation will take place before any decisions are made.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

  No decisions have been made regarding the closure of any prison within the Scottish Prison Service estate. The SPS is considering a range of options to work within the resources available to it while delivering the services required. We will work with staff and trade union partners to identify where further efficiency savings can be made and how the current prison estate can best be utilised, including addressing the levels of under-occupancy in the Open Estate.

Prison Service

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to reports in The Herald on 22 November 2010, whether it has had discussions regarding prison closures.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

  No decisions have been made regarding the closure of any prison within the Scottish Prison Service estate. The SPS is considering a range of options to work within the resources available to it while delivering the services required. We will work with staff and trade union partners to identify where further efficiency savings can be made and how the current prison estate can best be utilised, including addressing the levels of under-occupancy in the Open Estate.

Public Appointments

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what remuneration the chair of the National Performance Management Committee received from the Scottish Government in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09 and (c) 2009-10 and on what basis the remuneration was calculated.

Nicola Sturgeon: The arrangements for remunerating the chair of the National Performance Management Committee were approved by the then Health Minister, Andy Kerr, in 2006. These are based on the ceiling of the Band 2 daily fee for chairs, as set out in paragraph 5.19 of the annex to the Scottish Government Public Sector Pay Policy for Senior Appointments:  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/public-sector-pay/senior-appointment-pay .

  The terms of the appointment provide for up to 24 days per annum to be paid, which, at the current daily rate, would equate to an annual remuneration of £9,648. However, in practice, the actual number of days remunerated has been below 24 in each year of the appointment.

Scottish Government Finance

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the Transfer of the Management of Development Funding budget will be in 2011-12.

John Swinney: The budget for the Transfer of the Management of Development Funding for 2011-12 is £97.710 million.

Sex Offenders

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the transfer to HMP Glenochil of up to 150 sex offenders, whether only offenders who were previously resident in Clackmannanshire will be considered for local residence in Clackmannanshire on their discharge.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  Long-term adult offenders, including sex offenders, are subject to strict release conditions. Under current arrangements, prisoners are allocated to their area of residence within seven days of admission to prison. This definition of residency is based on the prisoner’s address at arrest and their court of disposal. Once set, the respective local authority manages the offender’s case through imprisonment onto release. Any requests to change residency will be dealt with between the relevant local authorities.

  The current practice of returning prisoners, including sex offenders, to a prison in their home area prior to release will continue. Therefore, we would anticipate that only offenders defined, as resident in Clackmannanshire would be released back into Clackmannanshire.

Sex Offenders

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the comments on training in The Report of the Review Group on the Future Management of Sex Offenders within Scottish Prisons , (a) how many and (b) which (i) grades and (ii) types of staff at HMP Glenochil have had (A) training to facilitator level or a level that enables them to provide specialist sex offender support programmes and (B) general awareness training.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Report of the Review Group on the Future Management of Sex Offenders within Scottish Prisons was published on 28 June 2002. Since the publication, legislation and policy has progressed.

  However, the management of HMP Glenochil have put in place a training strategy that breaks down the key components of knowledge required to work effectively with sex offenders. This approach was adopted with maintaining public protection at the forefront.

  Specifically the following training has been provided:

  Three psychologists trained to deliver sex offender programmes covering the following (current STOP, CORE and Rolling).

  Two social workers are trained to deliver the community sex offender group work programme.

  Prior to the sex offenders arriving, 49 staff attended specific training on Psychological manipulation and conditioning training.

  Six (five social workers + one team manager) social work staff are trained in child protection (CP) levels one & two.

  Six (five social workers + one team manager) social work staff are trained in vulnerable adult support and protection.

  Two social work staff are trained in joint police & social work interviews (specific to sex offender work).

  Two managers attended multi agency public protection arrangement (MAPPA) training delivered by fife police.

  Eight staff have received a basic awareness to MAPPA training

  Further training will be provided to staff as required.

Sex Offenders

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many groups of sex offenders will undertake work to address their offending in HMP Glenochil annually.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

  HMP Glenochil’s focus for programme delivery, until 31 March 2011, was agreed in early 2010 before the decision was made to transfer sex offenders. SPS is currently undertaking the evaluation of the Good Lives Sex Offender Programme which is being tested at HMP Peterhead. Once this is completed, it is expected that HMP Glenochil will feature in the SPS’s strategy for the delivery of offending behaviour programmes specifically targeted at sex offenders.

  At present, the option remains to transfer prisoners to other appropriate SPS locations in order to access necessary offending behaviour programmes at an appropriate point in the prisoners sentence.

Sex Offenders

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the refurbished HMP Glenochil has separate facilities to house the sex offenders being transferred and whether it will act as a receiving prison for sex offenders in future or only for transfers.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  The sex offenders transferred into HMP Glenochil are housed on two levels of one houseblock, separate from non-sex offender prisoners. HMP Glenochil does not at this time receive prisoners directly from the courts therefore all convicted prisoners (including sex offenders) are transferred to Glenochil from other prisons.

Sex Offenders

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the sex offenders being transferred to HMP Glenochil are serving sentences of less than one year and four months, regarded as the minimum sentence required in order to undertake assessment and intervention.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  As at the 6 December 2010, there were no sex offenders at HMP Glenochil who are serving sentences of less than one year and four months.

  All sex offenders sentenced to six months or longer are subject to statutory post-release supervision. They therefore meet the criteria for the Enhanced Integrated Case Management process, which includes formal risk assessment and structured risk management planning. As a result, they would all be considered for interventions to address their offending, though it can be challenging to arrange this in custody when the sentence is very short.

Sex Offenders

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether HMP Glenochil has a child-free visiting area as well as a general area, as recommended in The Report of the Review Group on the Future Management of Sex Offenders within Scottish Prisons .

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Report of the Review Group on the Future Management of Sex Offenders within Scottish Prisons was published on 28 June 2002. Since the publication, legislation and policy has progressed.

  HMP Glenochil does not have a child-free visit area in addition to a general visits area.

  However, arrangements are in place to ensure, as far as reasonably possible, that prisoners who present a risk to children, and who are not permitted visits with minors, are segregated at visits from those prisoners who may receive visits from children. This practice is consistent with other sites that hold sex offenders.

  Furthermore, seating arrangements at visits are controlled and visits are strictly supervised by staff and are supported by CCTV facilities.

Sex Offenders

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is a specialist unit at HMYOI Polmont for the assessment and management of sex offenders.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  There is no separate specialist unit at HMYOI Polmont for the assessment and management of sex offenders. All young people convicted of a sex offence are managed under an enhanced integrated case management arrangement. An allocated social worker will manage their case throughout the duration of their sentence in partnership with prison staff and community based social workers. This can include access to appropriate programmes. When necessary, HMYOI Polmont locate young people convicted of a sex offence in a separate area of the establishment, alongside other young people requiring to be separated for their own protection.

Waste Management

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the £24.4 million in the Zero Waste budget in 2010-11, as noted in Table 11.06 of Scotland’s Spending Plans and Draft Budget 2011-12, will be allocated to local authority projects to assist them in achieving municipal waste targets in 2011.

Richard Lochhead: The £24.4 million budget for Zero Waste includes support for a number of programmes, including work to develop markets for recyclate use; waste prevention and minimisation; re-use and recycling awareness; support for community recycling groups; and support for local authorities. Full details of the Zero Waste Scotland Operating Plan for 2010-11 can be found at: http://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/document.rm?id=9643 .

  It is not possible to disaggregate the £24.4 million budget down to the level of beneficiaries, as the support programme delivered by Zero Waste Scotland takes a whole system approach and focuses on all waste, irrespective of where it arises or who manages it. Nevertheless, local authorities do benefit from the Zero Waste Programme outcomes.

  In addition, over £30 million of the Zero Waste Fund was allocated to local authorities to assist with delivery of new and improved waste infrastructure. The Scottish Government letter dated 4 December 2009 addressed to COSLA and council chief executives, advised local authorities of the amount of Zero Waste Fund monies to be paid to them. In accordance with the concordat, this funding is not ring fenced, however the letter highlighted partnership working with COSLA and recognised the need to make good progress on recycling/composting diversion targets and to commit resources accordingly. This is in addition to the £65 million from the former ring fenced Strategic Waste Fund that was incorporated into the block grant provided to local authorities by the Scottish Government in 2010-11.

  To summarise, £95.7 million was paid to local authorities during 2010-11, they also benefit from the Zero Waste Scotland Programme, as detailed above.